Declan Ruth
# Declan Ruth

Declan Ruth (born 30 April 1976) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He is the current manager of his hometown club Rapparees, having enjoyed a lengthy career with them as a player, while he also lined out with the Wexford senior hurling team. Ruth usually lined out as a defender.

## Playing career

Ruth first came to prominence at juvenile and underage levels as a dual player with the Shamrocks GAA club, before transferring to the Rapparees GAA club. He eventually progressed onto the club's top adult teams and won two County Championship titles as a Gaelic footballer. Ruth first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the Wexford minor team before later winning consecutive Leinster Under-21 Championship titles. He made his first appearance for the Wexford senior hurling team in an Oireachtas Cup game against Clare in November 1995. Ruth was a non-playing substitute on the Wexford team that beat Limerick in the 1996 All-Ireland final. He had earlier won a Leinster Championship medal as a non-playing substitute and, after being dropped from the team for a period, returned to win a second provincial title in 2004.

## Managerial career

Ruth has been involved in coaching and team management at all levels with the Rapparees club. In 2021 he managed the club's senior team to a first County Championship title in 43 years.

## Personal life

Ruth was educated at Enniscorthy CBS before later completing a Bachelor's degree in Business Studies and Accountancy at the Waterford Institute of Technology. He later worked as a sales rep for a number of medical companies and also spent some time as an analyst on RTÉ's the Sunday Game. In 2009, Ruth married Wexford camogie player Aoife O'Connor.

## Honours

### Player

**Starlights**

* Wexford Senior Football Championship: 2002, 2004

**Wexford**

* All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: 1996
* Leinster Senior Hurling Championship: 1996, 2004
* Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship: 1996, 1997

### Manager

**Rapparees**

* Wexford Senior Hurling Championship: 2021
